Sarawak Sign MoU With China's Badminton Academy To Train Players

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), July 19 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) and Difon-Jooyyume Badminton Training and Academy of Xiamen, China Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conduct joint badminton training. SBA president Abdul Aziz Husain signed the MoU for SBA while Difon-Jooyyoume Badminton Training and Academy of Xiamen, China was represented by its chief coach Yushen Zheng. State Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Abdul Karim Hamzah witnessed the MoU singing at his office here. Karim said he was very impressed with the prowess of Chinese athletes, adding that the country has set the standard when it comes to sports and that Malaysia aspires to be like them. "Malaysia looks up to China highly and we hope to learn from them to help enhance the skills and training of our athletes. I am very impressed with China's level of discipline and that is why they are so successful at everything they do," said Karim after the MoU signing. He said athletes from other countries are also welcomed to Sarawak and train here as it not only exposes the state athletes to train side-by-side with them, but also promotes the state tourism industry. "We want them to feel being welcomed here and enjoy the hospitality and what the state has to offer to tourists. This will in turn bring around the multiplier effect whereby when they go back to their respective countries, they will tell the people about us which will in turn promote our state," said Karim. Meanwhile SBA secretary Abdul Hadi Kadir said SBA has identified approximately a dozen schools in the state to recruit for young badminton players. "We want our players to go beyond Sukma (Malaysian Olympics) and that was why we want to train them no matter how young they are," he said, adding that they chose students from schools that are already active in badminton. -- BERNAMA